Vu Anh Tuan's "˜Harvesting,' featuring farmers harvesting rice grown along the river in Hanoi, won the first prize at SEARCA's Photo Contest 2010 in the Philippines

Vietnamese photographer Vu Anh Tuan has won two prizes at the 2010 SEARCA (Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture) photo contest.

The contest was themed: Agricultural and Rural Development in a Globalizing Southeast Asia: Challenges and Triumphs.

Tuan's submissions titled "Harvesting", portraying farmers harvesting rice grown along the river in Hanoi, and "Vietnam and Teamwork" which captured farmers in the mountainous province of Lao Cai helping each other in transplanting rice, bagged first and third prize respectively.

Before SEARCA, Tuan, who is a reporter for the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper, won three bronze medals at this year's EPSON International Pano Awards Competition in Australia, second prize at the National Press Awards, and first prize at the Khoanh khac vang 03 Contest (Golden moment).

The fourth SEARCA Photo Contest this year focused on contemporary issues in agriculture at the grassroots level.

Of the 180 entries received, the best were chosen during the final judging session held on November 5, 2010 at SEARCA, Los BaÃ±os, Laguna, Philippines.

The criteria used to judge were relevance to theme; regional flavor; originality/creativity; and composition.

The three winning entries and entries of 12 other finalists will be displayed at SEARCA's 44th anniversary exhibition.

SEARCA was founded by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in 1966 primarily "to provide to the participating countries high quality graduate study in agriculture; promote, undertake, and coordinate research programs related to the needs and problems of the Southeast Asian region; and disseminate the findings of agricultural research and experimentation."